Local authorities destined for less prominent transport information role

Next month’s LTT-sponsored Travel 2020 conference will present a new concept in transport information and ticketing, with potential great significance for the local authorities’ role

The information and data revolution now sweeping across the passenger transport sector is set to have some radical consequences for both the customers and those who supply and manage the different modal choices. The picture is still emerging, but some major players from outside the traditional world of operators and local authority co-ordinators are setting out their stalls, and an opportunity to hear their thinking will be provided at the forthcoming Travel 2020 conference on 2/3 Nov.

In particular, new visions for transport brokerage services being developed by major technology companies such as IBM and Cubic are likely to have a profound impact on the way local authorities carry out their role. One impact will be the availability of a richer array of data for planning transport services, while another will be to cause a rethink of their roles as transport information providers.

The new brokerage concept, which will be presented and debated at the LTT-sponsored conference and exhibition, envisages bringing together data sources on all types of transport – train, bus, taxi, car (including parking) and bike – in one integrated web-based booking, sales and information platform.

Passengers would be presented with information on cost, journey time, reliability and potentially environmental impact for all transport options, which would change in real-time according to network use. Personalised advice could also be offered on which mode or combination of modes would best suit individual passengers’ travel requirements. The aim would be to make the most efficient use of transport networks and minimise environmental impact by influencing travel choices through pricing and dynamic information.

Technology companies that would provide the service and mobile phone companies that would deliver it envisage that it could be funded both through sales commissions and permissive marketing using customer data to provide value-added services to users based on the purpose of their journey.

IBM travel and transport architect Chris Cooper describes the technical aspects as a relatively simple proposition. The main challenge he foresees is persuading all the parties involved to release the data required to make the brokerage service as effective as possible.

“Delivering the platform is just a case of moulding data to other pieces of data and I can see how to do that,” he says.  “The challenge is obtaining data in first place so we can integrate it and aggregate it into a new format.”

One major issue relates to privacy and ensuring customer data is used appropriately. A second relates to the release of transport data. For example, operators could have concerns over public perceptions of their services. “A transport provider could be paying for a mobility service which provides very visible and public evidence that service commitments are not being met,” says Cooper. “So part of this journey is how we regulate it and set expectations. “From our involvement with various travel entities over the last 6-12 months there is massive support for integrated journey planning information,” he adds. “What we recognise is there is a massive [data collection] challenge to get through.”

While the launch of a full multi-modal brokerage service is likely to be some years away, many of the building blocks it could draw on are starting to develop. CrossCountry Trains has just launched a mobile app in conjunction with Masabi, developer of Chiltern’s pioneering m-ticketing, which is claimed to be the first to offer live departure times and mobile ticketing as an integrated service. Others are expected to emerge shortly.

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Find out more about Travel 2020: The 2-day transport & travel technology exhibition and conference

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New thinking on the provision of joined-up information and ticketing capabilities is coming from a number of innovative parties. DHC Consultancy has created a new standalone business, Loop Connections, to develop integrated sales and information through smartphone apps. Incentives for customers to change behaviour have been developed as part of the service, drawing on DHC’s experience in the travel planning sector. Director Derek Halden expects a number of established information providers and ticketing providers to start assessing how to change their businesses to deliver integrated systems as well. “It’s interesting that Trapeze has just bought Concept Data Technologies, he says. “Trapeze was out there with information and CDC with ticket sales, so this gives Trapeze new capabilities.”

The introduction of multi-modal ticketing solutions required for an effective brokerage service are also gathering pace. The roll out of smartcard ticketing across a large proportion of the bus fleet in England this year provides one potential payment mechanism. However, the announcement that contactless bankcard ticketing will be introduced across London’s network and First’s English bus fleet next year offers a more convenient choice in many respects, as well as eliminating the need for operators and local authorities to invest in smartcard distribution and ticket loading infrastructure. “To me it’s all about taking away obstacles that may cause a person not to use public transport,” says Mike Cowen, Paypass vice president product development for Mastercard. “If a customer already has a bankcard, they don’t have to obtain a separate transport smartcard or load a product onto it.” A further advantage of contactless bankcard ticketing is that it offers the possibility of obtaining aggregate information on the journey purpose of customers using individual services.

The roll-out of NFC phones in the UK, which is expected to begin in earnest next year, offers further possibilities for the development of information and ticketing services. Information on whether services are running to time could be obtained simply by holding phones next to smart posters at bus stops and stations, with options provided on alternative routes if services are disrupted. NFC also offers the opportunity for simple integration of public transport payment onto mobile phones through a ‘wave in, wave out’ e-wallet facility. IBM’s Chris Cooper points out that this offers a new source of information on passenger behaviour by enabling their precise movements and behaviour to be tracked throughout the transport system.

Potentially, brokerage services and new payment technology could deliver significant benefits to transport planning authorities by providing a rich ledger of aggregate and personal customer data to draw on. “It means you can plan transport on a more logical basis according to actually monitored demand,” says Peter Warman, director of WarmanConsult. For example, demand data could make the case for shared taxis rather than buses on some routes and the creation of transport hubs featuring car clubs and bike hire schemes as well as conventional transport services.

The emergence of next generation information services could also lead to the public sector having a less prominent role in providing transport information even before the development of a brokerage service. Tim Rivett, head of information technology at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, acknowledges that the public sector has ground to make up in the provision of transport information. However, he does not believe that the local authorities should necessarily be trying to take a lead role in providing new generation journey planning services. Instead, councils and PTEs could act as facilitators for companies and individuals developing new services and provide a relatively basic information service so that people who wish to do so can validate information provided by the private sector.

 “Yes we have catching up to do, but another way of looking at it is that we have the information (on public transport timetables), so let’s provide it to people to do innovative things with, while we maybe need to provide a base service,” he says. “There have been exceptions, but historically the public sector has not been good at innovation. If we put the data out there someone will come up with novel ways of presenting information and helping people, and what we need to do is work out how to support people to become the next Trapezes of this world.”

Observers compare the likely withdrawal of local authorities from the forefront of transport information provision as comparable to their dropping other traditional municipal services from gas and water to bus operations. The new technological and commercial context means a market is developing of considerable interest to outside players with new visions of how to present and promote the transport offer.

“Councils may perceive themselves as being society rather than being one part of it,” says Derek Halden. “But society is moving on fast and that is what social marketing is all about. Local authorities can either be part of that or not as they choose. If they don’t wish to be involved the commercial sector will do it.”

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Find out more about Travel 2020: The 2-day transport & travel technology exhibition and conference

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